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Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 31, August 3, 2012
August 3, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

Posted on 08/03/2012 6:25:21 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde

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Good morning everybody! I hope you've had a peaceful and productive week.

Last week I posted photos of my cowpea patch and it has changed drastically since. Not only did they blossom, I have pea pods that are already 5" long! We will be picking before too long.

Thanks to all who posted photos last week. It was a beautiful thread.

Looking forward to reading your comments about what is happening in your neck o' the woods.

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The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: garden; gardening
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To: left that other site

Sorry about your "encouraged" downsizing. We, too, had to leave our home (of twenty years; we were just renting, but it felt like our own) because our landlord passed away. And it was only through prayer we were able to find somewhere to live that would take us and our two adult children, two big dogs, two cats (and a water turtle) at a price we could actually afford. It's a small area to live in comparatively (and it's not ours, the LL lives on the main floor), but we were able to acquire a small parcel of land from him to plant our very first vegetable garden (depicted, 8-1-12). So I couldn't be more pleased about that, and your "little" herb garden might very well grow to cover your balcony, and then some. Good luck! It's amazing what can be placed in containers, up trellises, and beyond. :)
21 posted on 08/03/2012 8:23:08 AM PDT by mlizzy (And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell others not to kill? --MT)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde
I am right in the center of the drought of 2012, and no end in sight. I have had to water something since April. And my water bills are shocking. BUT I did have 40 gallons picked strawberries by mid-May. All the potatoes and onions I can possibly use at least until winter. July was a month for watering and watering and watering... but my reward was over 300 ears of corn.

My tomatoes are now ripe and ripening. I have enough to begin making salsa. The forecasters say we are to be above 100 again and I have already made my early morning rounds to see what took place overnight... more ripe tomatoes.

22 posted on 08/03/2012 8:27:48 AM PDT by Just mythoughts (Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

I’ll be getting my garden plots ready for the fall veggies soon. It’s too hot here in central Texas for anything to survive. No rain for a couple of weeks and the water bill is bad enough trying to keep the back yard alive.


23 posted on 08/03/2012 8:30:03 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (RINO season is open. No limit. Make them extinct.)
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To: MtnClimber
Meanwhile back in the blighted potato patch. On the left is the fruit of two hills of Red Gold, on the right is two hills of Yukon Gold and at the top is one hill of a Turnip look-a-like called Purple Haze,.These were for our Pastor to prepay my ticket to Heaven.


24 posted on 08/03/2012 8:30:29 AM PDT by tubebender
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To: tubebender

Oh, an 0bama spreader.


25 posted on 08/03/2012 8:31:07 AM PDT by MtnClimber (To the left wrong is right, down is up and backward is "Forward")
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To: mlizzy

I can have pots on my balcony, and also at the bottom of my stairs. I will make it BLOOM! :-)


26 posted on 08/03/2012 8:52:31 AM PDT by left that other site
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To: left that other site
I can have pots on my balcony, and also at the bottom of my stairs. I will make it BLOOM! :-)
Awesome... I look forward to your pics.. :)
27 posted on 08/03/2012 8:58:20 AM PDT by mlizzy (And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell others not to kill? --MT)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

We are still getting some tomatos, but lots of banana peppers and the okry is doing pretty good for young plants. We have picked a lot of Cajun Delight and Jade, with the others just starting to produce.


28 posted on 08/03/2012 8:59:21 AM PDT by rightly_dividing (We are Dan Cathy, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker, and November is drawing close!.)
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To: left that other site

HUH!!! How did you do that?


29 posted on 08/03/2012 9:20:00 AM PDT by tillacum
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To: left that other site

Will hold you in prayers.


30 posted on 08/03/2012 9:23:34 AM PDT by tillacum
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To: left that other site

I am so sorry to hear about all of your problems, LTOS! May I say that I feel your attitude is inspirational. Prayers for you and I am extremely confident that anything you plant on a balcony will just awe us. Hugs, Mom


31 posted on 08/03/2012 9:24:52 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: MtnClimber

No, I think it’s th manure in the spreader???


32 posted on 08/03/2012 9:27:50 AM PDT by tillacum
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To: momtothree; tillacum

Thank you so much for your prayers. I wish I could share some of this S. Florida RAIN with all our good FRiends on this Thread!
:-)


33 posted on 08/03/2012 9:30:49 AM PDT by left that other site
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To: mlizzy

It’s raining now, so the pots I have set mout are getting some much-needed watering.


34 posted on 08/03/2012 9:32:12 AM PDT by left that other site
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

Finally getting a few tomatoes, though still only one from ‘in ground’ planting.

Voles unexpectedly have drastically attacked the potato crop; seems they have hit their 4-6 year population peak, just as the grasshopper population has crashed after two years of devastatingly high numbers. Sigh; always something.

The weather ruined the last set banana squash, though it was large enough to be picked and used like a large summer squash. New blossoms coming, but it is way too late to even dream of any maturing. Also, so far, only one pattypan and 2 zukes, though they now should start producing in the next week or so.

We hit the county 4-H fair yesterday, and the veggie exhibits were pretty anemic, so it isn’t just us. Not a “misery loves company” thing; rather just a validation that it isn’t anything we’re doing wrong.

I replanted all the blaupeas we harvested, in hopes of getting a fall crop from them. Instead of a space & water-saving short, wide-row bed, I put them in as a single long row this time, and will trellis them.

Today, it will be harvesting wild plums, both yellows & reds. Huge crops of them this year, after 2 or 3 years of poor to mediocre fruit set.

I also have 20 apricot seeds in a zipper bag of potting soil in the fridge; they came from a city parks tree in town, and apricots are the fruit that comes truest to parent from seed. I also tried to save a couple of peach seeds, but when I cracked the pits, the kernels were just dried out papery wafers.

The Egyptian onions rescued from the town’s yard-waste dump keep sprouting; have 35 of them up & growing now, out of the 50 I planted. Monday, the count was 28, and last Friday 21.


35 posted on 08/03/2012 11:38:41 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!©)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

My area was without rain for nearly 2 months, then we had rain almost every day for 2 weeks. Now we’re getting a sprinkle every few days, so it’s evening out. The stuff that survived the drought is going gangbusters. My zucchini is taking over the back yard, one cucumber is tangled in with it, and my watermelons are starting to follow suit. They’re all laughing at me when I try to get them back on the trellis. I think I’ll just let them ramble.

My potatoes are growing faster than I can hill them up. I hope that means lots of potatoes this fall. I’m trying to replant some tomatoes on the off chance that we get a late fall and they can actually produce, the drought killed all the ones I planted this spring.

I’ve been harvesting radish pods from 2 different varieties. One is a Rat-tail radish, which is bred specifically for it’s pods, the other is a normal radish that Jungs was giving away as their free sample this year. The rat-tail has much bigger pods, but not as many of them. The regular radish has small pods, but there’s so many of them that there’s no way to keep them all picked. I’ve even taken to just cutting the branches off instead of plucking them individually, and they still outpace me! I hope someone in my family likes pickled radish pods, because I hate seeing stuff go to waste. Personally, I never liked radishes, I planted them for my dad.

On a completely different note, there’s been such a lull in the costume-making business that I’ve had to start looking for a new market. And I found one that’s being badly under-served: concealed-carry clothes for women. There are a few options out there right now, but not many, and quite frankly, the majority are ugly. I’m designing some things for the lady who wants to feel safe AND pretty. I’ve got a satin blouse design that’s almost ready for the market, and several other designs that are percolating. We’ll see how that does.

As an occupational hazard, I can’t look at someone now without trying to figure out how to alter their outfit for concealed-carry.


36 posted on 08/03/2012 12:00:09 PM PDT by Ellendra ("It's astounding how often people mistake their own stupidity for a lack of fairness." --Thunt)
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To: Ellendra

Please freepmail me pics when you get them done.


37 posted on 08/03/2012 12:25:12 PM PDT by goodwithagun (My gun has killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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To: sneakers

You are going to love those Black Krim! They have a fantastic flavor.


38 posted on 08/03/2012 1:23:46 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Don't think for a minute that this excuse for a President has America's best interest in mind.)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde
I meant to get this done earlier in the season, but things were growing like crazy in the old hoophouse, so I kept putting it off.

Hoophouse

The standard 70% shadecloth was way too much for the plants, so it was left secured to the top rail. The raised beds are built from scavenged 2x12 lumber and are filled with horse manure. Watering is done with 3 small drip sprinkler heads, which are more than adequate. Needless to say, the plants quickly got out of control, necessitating modification.

Hoophouse extension1

Here is the hoophouse after we widened it 10ft. and added extra raised beds. Irrigation on this section will also be by drip heads. If you note the big green monsters in the center bed on the right, those are okra plants that stand over 7ft tall (Thanks for the seeds JADB!). The beds have been cleared of the squash, zuchini, melon, and most of the tomato vines in preparation for the next crop. We are going to replace the 70% shadecloth with 30% cloth when it comes in.

39 posted on 08/03/2012 2:06:18 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Don't think for a minute that this excuse for a President has America's best interest in mind.)
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To: goodwithagun

Will do!


40 posted on 08/03/2012 5:43:11 PM PDT by Ellendra ("It's astounding how often people mistake their own stupidity for a lack of fairness." --Thunt)
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